One of the most common questions I receive from people just starting out in the online selling world is “where do I start!?”… and it’s a very good question. Which is the best platform to launch your new online business – eBay, Amazon, or an online shop? I’ll try to answer this question in today’s blog post by covering the advantages and disadvantages of each platform plus I’ll show you a proven, step by step system that will get you started in no time!

First though, we need to evaluate your own personal situation as there is no one single answer as the best way to launch a business will depend a lot on yourself and your specific circumstances.

Level of Experience

This is by far the most important thing you have to consider. If you’re totally new to online business, haven’t sold a thing in the past and in general, have very little knowledge on the topic, I highly recommend you start with eBay first. Why? Because eBay is still the number 1 and easiest selling platform to use when starting your first online business.

If we take eCommerce shops on the other hand; you really need to know what you’re doing to achieve any decent results. With your own eCommerce site, it’s not enough to put together a simple shop and wait for the money to roll in, not at all. As I explain in my eCommerce Magnates course, you have to know exactly how to build your shop and exactly how to promote it – otherwise it’ll be a failure – no two ways about it, there’s no shortcuts to be taken at all.

Sure, there are still plenty of things you need to learn to start selling on eBay but in general; it’s far easier compared to online shops. On eBay, you can start with one listing, selling a used item you already own, and learn along the way. And you’ll make that sale if you follow some basic principles.

I would put Amazon in 2nd place, right after eBay IF we base this decision purely on your level of experience. In some ways Amazon is even easier to get started with as there are not that many rules to follow, no templates to use etc. The problem with Amazon however is that it will be much harder to get those first sales in compared to eBay, especially if you just want to gain some experience with second hand goods.

To sum it up – if you’re totally new to the online selling world, start an eBay business. Begin with used goods and then once you’ve gained some experience, you can start looking at Amazon and maybe even your own online shop.

Budget

By budget I mean the amount of money you can invest in setting-up your business and buying stock. Basically the same rules apply here – if you’re on a very low budget, start with eBay! As I said, on eBay you can put together a listing for just one product and be up and running, selling in 10 minutes’ time. No other platform comes close to this.

With Amazon you’ll need to purchase brand new products in real bulk to make it work. This of course means a higher level of investment compared to eBay. You can still start with just one product on Amazon too but you’ll need to source it in bulk. Besides that, to list your own unique products in separate listings you’ll need to subscribe to Amazon’s Pro account, which costs £25 a month.

An eCommerce Shop is another step further into your pocket. Not only do you have to invest at least a few hundred pounds designing and setting up your shop, you’ll need to buy a range of products to sell as well. There’s no point in starting an online shop with just one product, unless it’s a very popular product that is a niche in itself (like a piece of fitness equipment or a specific business tool/machine).

So, if you have very little money to work with, start with eBay. If you have a more serious budget, you can start an Amazon business. If you have at least a few thousand pounds PLUS existing eBay selling experience, you can start looking into setting up your own eCommerce Shop.

Long Term Plans

What’s your plan here? Do you want to start a full-time business OR simply generate some extra income each month to help pay your bills? This is a very important question to ask because for people who just want to make a few hundred pounds extra per month, the best path will be different compared to people who want to build a serious, long term business.

For those who are looking to create a side income, working just a few hours a day, eBay is once again the perfect platform. You don’t even have to ever look into other selling channels as eBay alone can provide you with the income level you’re looking for.

On the other hand, people with serious long term plans should use all 3 platforms to maximise their business’ potential. This usually means starting with eBay and then expanding to Amazon and an eCommerce shop. Not only does this allow you to reach more customers and therefore make more money, it also diversifies your risk! You won’t lose your entire business if something goes wrong with just one platform (like if eBay decides to ban you for example).

Time

If you have a full time job, you have to start with a platform that is less time consuming. Many people start building eCommerce shops not realising how much time they have to put into them before they’ll even get that first sale. This is definitely NOT for people who can only spend a maximum of 1-2 hours a day on their online business.

You can of course outsource many tasks if your budget allows it but still, I recommend starting with eBay alone if you can only dedicate a small amount of time to your business.

Amazon would fall into the same category as it’s relatively easy to maintain, especially if you use Fulfilment by Amazon – a service which takes care of your stock storage, order processing and dispatch.

An eCommerce shop is the one that requires the most time and energy on your part. Everything takes time when we talk about creating a successful eCommerce shop – starting from setting it up, creating product pages, adding descriptions and ending with the actual promotional part – which is a science in itself. It’s definitely not suitable for people who can spend just 1-2 hours a day on the project.

Okay, I am exaggerating a bit here of course – you can do it, even with just 1-2 hours a day, but then expect to spend many long months on it before you even see your first sale. So yes, it can be done but it will just take a longer period of time before you see any results.

Compare it to eBay where you can list a product in the morning and dispatch your first three orders that very afternoon and it’s a BIG difference.

So these are the 4 main considerations for which platform would be best for you to start on:

Level of experience

Budget

Long term plans

Time

In almost all cases, you’ll end up selling on all 3 platforms sooner or later, apart from people who just want to make a little side income and therefore will only use eBay.

And as you can see – the pattern in most situations is quite clear: eBay > Amazon > eCommerce Shop

This is the approach I almost always recommend people take when starting a new online business. To me it’s a logical plan to get started and grow your business as your level of experience increases. I have met very few people who have started out with an eCommerce shop and then expanded to eBay and Amazon as that’s not the logical or natural path of progression.

Now, with this information to hand, you can take a look at how eBay, Amazon and an online shop compare to each other and what my thoughts are on each. This is just my opinion of course, so completely subjective, but this is how I see the three platforms:

eBay is eBay… the world’s largest online marketplace. Their position only strengthens each year as they grow and make more profit. I really believe that eBay is that one opportunity where anyone can start a successful business online.

What I like most about eBay is that you can start selling so quickly and see results almost instantly. No other marketplace offers such ease-of-entry to people who are new to the online selling world.

There are downsides too of course…

Rules

Even though it’s easy to start selling on eBay, there are so many rules you have to follow to stay above everything and just keep your account active. Even though eBay has recently improved their Help center, for new sellers it may all sound too complicated. So I highly recommend you get some basic education first, before you even start selling. If you want a step by step guide on how to start a successful eBay business, check out my Easy Auction Business video course which will walk you through the whole process.

Competition

eBay is a very competitive marketplace and only the strongest and smartest sellers survive. But don’t be put off by this. In reality most of the competition you see on eBay are not that smart at all and can easily be out-competed IF you’re willing to take the extra steps needed to take your business to the next level and really make it something special.

Limited expansion

eBay itself is huge of course but still, if you sell a product on eBay, there’s a set market size for it and in most cases you can only take a small percentage of that. It’s hard to advertise an eBay business outside of eBay and even then; eBay’s tools for customer retention and for building long-lasting relationships with your customers are very limited.

Risk

eBay comes up with new rules all the time and if you’re not careful, one day you can instantly lose your business merely because you breached some rules you weren’t even aware of! Genuine ignorance won’t be accepted as a valid excuse and as eBay has complete control over us sellers, once an account is banned, there’s almost nothing you can do to get it back.

Low prices

eBay is seen as a bargain hunter’s paradise. That, added to the high level of competition, means eBay is a cutthroat marketplace where price is the no.1 driving factor in the buying decision. That being said, I have proved over and over that you DON’T have to be the cheapest to make your eBay business a success – you just have to be smarter! That means using clever branding strategies, marketing strategies, and listing strategies to ensure you make sales even if you’re not the lowest price on eBay.

Fees

I wouldn’t really call this a downside, more a cost for opportunity. On average you’ll pay eBay and PayPal 15% of each sale you make. For some people this may seem like too much, and that’s ok, but you have to understand that nothing comes free in this life and that you’re being provided a lot in return for that 15%… you’ll understand exactly what I mean later on when I cover eCommerce, which most people consider to be ‘fee-less’.

Even after listing all these negatives, I still consider eBay to be the number one opportunity for people who are just starting out selling online. It’s easy and cheap to get started and you’ll learn valuable real life experience that you can apply to other platforms – this is so much more worthwhile than anything you’ll ever learn in a book!

Or to be more precise – Amazon’s Marketplace. Anyone can open up a free seller’s account and start listing some used or brand new items on Amazon. In some ways it’s even easier than on eBay as there are not that many rules and systems in place BUT it’s also not as effective as eBay.

Unlike on eBay, where you list your products in individual, unique listings which will show up in search results, on Amazon; your offer will simply be shown under one listing for that particular product. And all the offers will be sorted by lowest price first. In my opinion this means you can only really achieve success on Amazon’s Marketplace if you sell a popular item and you can offer the LOWEST price for that item.

But the real gem lies in Amazon’s PRO seller account which comes at a cost of £25 per month. With this account you can list your own products in your own listings, meaning you’re selling your own brand products. This is where the real power of Amazon’s marketplace lies! You can take advantage of Amazon’s massive traffic and make a killing with your own products! The product itself doesn’t even have to be 100% unique – you can use my branding strategies and turn an unbranded product that everyone sells into a uniquely branded item that only you sell! I truly believe that this is the way to go on Amazon.

While there are less rules to follow on Amazon, don’t think it will be an easy ride. There are some downsides too…

Customer service

To keep your Amazon seller’s account in good standing, you have to provide super customer support, sell high quality products and do whatever it takes to resolve any issues of conflict. Amazon is actually even stricter than eBay and will ban accounts very quickly if your customers start leaving bad feedback.

Time

Amazon is not as fast as eBay, in terms of business growth or even getting those first sales in. Amazon’s search results depend heavily on product ratings and reviews. With a brand new product, with no purchases, it’s not easy to get a high level of traffic. That is unless competition for that product is very small. In general, expect to wait weeks and even months on Amazon for a product to really start ranking well and make the first page of search results.

Limited product selection

Amazon is naturally a more suitable marketplace for all kinds of electronics and household items etc. but may not be as good as eBay for clothing or say craft supplies. This means that not all niches and products will sell as well on Amazon as they do on eBay. You’ll never know this for sure without trying of course so I still recommend giving Amazon a chance, no matter what niche or products you work with.

To sum it up, Amazon is a natural 2nd step to take after your eBay business is up and running. It will work better for some products but everyone should give it a go and list their inventory on Amazon to reach more potential customers.

Lastly, eCommerce, your own online shop and the road to making millions online… as cliché as that may sound, it’s true. As only with your own online shop can you build a multi-million pound company. Technically you can do so on eBay or Amazon as well but that is so much rarer and much more difficult to achieve in comparison. eCommerce really is the way to go for anyone who wants to build a long-term, sustainable business that doesn’t rely completely on 3rd party marketplaces.

Here’s why I like online shops…

100% control

No more eBay or Amazon rules! You’re the boss and you control every aspect of your business, be it shipping, payment or dispatch rules – no one will tell you what you can and can’t do and this is obviously a great advantage to have! Not talking about account bans – no one can ban your eCommerce shop unless you’re doing something really stupid like selling counterfeit goods or other illegal products.

No direct competition

While you’ll still competing with other sellers in your niche, it won’t be direct competition as once a person lands on your shop, you’ve ‘got them’ – all they can see are your offers and products – there won’t be competitor’s listings taking their attention away! This also means that it’s more difficult for people to compare your offers with other sellers, so you stand a higher chance of making a sale.

Higher prices

People go to eBay to get bargain deals. Not so with online shops. While it is still important, with your own shop you don’t have to compete on price alone and can put more emphasis on the products’ features and quality.

Unlimited growth potential

The sky REALLY is the limit when we talk about eCommerce shops! You can become as big as you want within the means of your niche. Work on paid advertising, free promotions, build your own customer email database, do joint venture deals and so much more! If you’re willing to work hard, your own online shop is the perfect platform to make your dreams come true.

There are many more positives I could list but this just illustrates the fundamental difference between selling on your own shop vs. a third party marketplace like eBay / Amazon.

It all comes with some downsides though…

Investment

Unlike on eBay, where you can start selling with no money at all, you’ll need to invest money in setting up your shop, filling it with products and advertising it. In most cases we’re talking about a few thousand pounds but obviously it will depend highly on the niche you’re working in.

Time

eCommerce is not a fast track to success, unless of course you have tons of money to spend on aggressive advertising. It will take time to build a great looking shop, it will take time to get ranked on Google, it will take time to build your customer base and so on. It all takes time. So if you’re not ready to work at least 6-9 months on your shop BEFORE you see any real results, don’t even bother starting. Seriously, this is not the quick route to riches by any means!

Knowledge

I mentioned how eBay is rather complicated with all the rules in place etc. but eCommerce takes it one step further. It’s not about the rules in this case but about all the various topics you have to master to make your shop a success. I’m talking about skills like:

marketing

design (if you can’t outsource it all)

email marketing

blogging

SEO

advertising

tracking

and many more!

There’s a HUGE amount of things you need to master to get it all right. That doesn’t mean you have to learn through trial and error of course as that would be a very costly education! There are tons of books written on these topics, there are blogs and forums you can learn from. And you will need to learn at least the basics before you waste money on things that are proven not to work!

If you want to learn from the best, check out my eCommerce Magnates course! It’s a massive video course that shows you step by step how to build, manage and promote a highly successful eCommerce Shop. It’s not a theory filled, boring book. No, these are real time video lessons in which I create a brand new online shop in front of your eyes, managing every aspect of it all the way to the first sales. I highly recommend this course to anyone who is new to eCommerce or anyone who wants to expand their knowledge and increase their chances of success.

Conclusions

So that’s it – that’s my answer to anyone who wants to know what platform it’s best to start on – eBay, Amazon or your own eCommerce Shop!

I hope I gave you some valuable insight into all 3 platforms and that this information will help you make a more educated decision. There’s no ONE formula that fits all, which is why it’s so important to evaluate your own personal situation when deciding which platform to launch on.

In most cases, you will want to sell on all 3 platforms eventually. After all, each one opens up further selling possibilities and allows you to reach more buyers so why not take advantage of them all?

Start with eBay, then expand to Amazon and lastly – an eCommerce shop. You really can’t go wrong with this approach. If one platform doesn’t work well for your business, just drop it and concentrate all your energy on those that bring in more money for you. It’s not like you’re required to sell on all three!

If you want my advice on your specific situation or you’d like me to clarify anything mentioned in this blog post, then feel free to post your questions below and I’ll personally answer you.

Hi Andrew,
Thanks very much for this. It the most useful information yet.
My name is Grant, I have invented a new foldaway frame that fits around and supports large bulk bags.
I have recently got a website up and running and decided last minute to pay the extra couple of £s a month to turn it into ecommerce to see what happens. (I am getting a few sales on this alone by folk tapping in bulk bag frame on Google.)
Now I’ve read this I perhaps should have gone on eBay first!

I am on the first page of Google for this which makes me think what would be the benefit of putting the product on eBay etc??

Also if I were to put Bulk Bag Buddy on eBay would it be good to put the price up 20% more to drive people to my website to buy direct thus saving the eBay fee??

I hope you can help Andrew, I am a plasterer by trade and this whole business is new to me.
Many thanks.

You should still list your product on eBay & Amazon as many people WON’t go to Google for an item like this but directly on eBay or Amazon. So with these 2 platforms you will reach a much wider audience.

Pricing is a sensitive issue – if you charge 20% more on eBay/Amazon – people may complain about it after finding that you sell it cheaper on your website. Or not. Hard to say really – you’ll want to test this out for some time and see how it works.

It is Gary from China,I feel so lucky that I have found your post here,it is quite useful for me.
I am working in drone business and set up a new online shop 2 weeks ago.
Does it matter that I choose opencart to launch my shop?Cause I see that you are using 3d cart in the video course…

Hi Andrew,
Really great post – thank you!
I’m just starting out selling a gluten-free food product that I produce myself.
What do you know about selling food online? I had originally thought that an online shop would be the only way to do this but since reading your posts am now thinking about starting this through ebay or amazon (volume dependant). Any thoughts on how food products may be different from say, books or clothing?
Best wishes,
Martha

[…] I talk about sourcing products from China very often on this blog, and for a good reason – it’s what I consider to be the best method for people who want to create a successful business selling online (be that on eBay, Amazon, or your own online store). […]

Here’s my situation: I originally started part time solely on EBay some 7 years ago successfully selling DVDS and video games. I Progressed to Amazon and decided to ditch that niche and go into Beauty and Health. Now I am full time – a pro-seller on Amazon and consistently a top seller on EBay. I am registered as a sole trader and I have gone from strength to strength and had no alternative but to register for VAT 2 years ago as I exceeded the VAT threshold. Amazon (both FBA and seller fulfilled) now accounts for 90% of my turnover with EBay just 10%. (turnover last year was 200K)

So far ok, but I constantly think that relying so heavily on one platform is dangerous. Always thinking ‘what if…..

I think it’s time that I should have my own website for the very reasons that you give above. I have got an on-line store via Free Web Store but to be honest I have been so consumed with Amazon and EBay I have neglected my on-line store and consequently I’m not getting anywhere near the results I would like.

If you’re making £200k in annual sales, you should def. start working on your own online shop – asap! Especially if you sell beauty and health products. I don’t know specifically what products you sell but these niches are generally very suitable for online shops as you can precisely target your potential customers and work on various paid and free traffic methods.

Just don’t use a free online store system, they usually are crap. Get a decent, professional shopping cart like Shopify or Big Commerce and do it the right way.

[…] ALL for having an online shop for your business! It’s a crucial piece of the puzzle in creating a sustainable online business… BUT you need to set your expectations and be prepared to put a lot of hard work and time into […]

[…] not going to go into too much detail now as I’ve written about this in a separate blog post (eBay, Amazon or an Online Shop?) but to put it simply – eCommerce is the holy grail and the potential is MUCH larger than if […]

Hello Andrew
Can I firstly commend you on your website and all the information you are delivering. … First class.

My question to you is regarding making the transition from long term ebayer to making a go at a full time business. My ebay setup is all still personal but obviously to get exposure in searches and Top seller ratings I will need to change this. To begin with I’ve sourced items from various places and am experimenting to see what sells, pricing etc… with the help of terapeak. Do you think I should make the change now and convert to business account and open a shop to get the full benefits of search ranking??
It would be nice to keep my feedback history but if I have to start afresh then I will do that.

Yes, I would recommend you upgrade your account to Business account now, especially if you could already qualify for TRS. And you’ll need shop subscription too, if you want to use GTC listings.

By doing this, you WON’T lose your feedbacks!!! You’ll still keep them, if you just upgrade your current, personal account to Business (just don’t open new account – upgrade current one). And shop subscription won’t change this either – you’ll still keep all of your feedbacks and selling history.

1) Would it be okay to do this mid-listing? (I have a number of items on there at the moment)
2) If so what happens to these listings?
3) My plan then is to register immediately as sole trader. .. Then for VAT shortly. I’m thinking beginning of the next TAX year would be good timing for this?

Hi again
I’m planning on giving this a real go as a week after I purchased your course I was made redundant.
So the VAT thing was just for keeping everything to the letter. I guess that converting an account from personal to business may blur things a little to begin with?
I need to re-re-read all your info.
Just one last thing, I have a verified paypal account… am I okay to carry on using this? As long as the cross over date is known I’m assuming this should be okay??
Thanks again
Steve

[…] If you’re just starting out, I would recommend you start selling on eBay first. Why? Well there are several reasons which I have covered in detail in my eBay, Amazon, or Ecommerce Shop article. […]

I am wondering if that magnates courses will suit me. As My all online stores are on Prestashop platform as I like it so much. But I am still did not start to build them. What would you recommend me with that? Are these courses about specific eCommerce platform and building store on it?

Also it would be great too see your article about business TAX and chosing the best business type for each of those opportunities I mean company or sole trader.

I use Big Commerce as an example shopping cart throughout the eCommerce Magnates course BUT the system/principles – everything I teach in the course can be applied to pretty much any shopping cart out there. I also start the course by reviewing best shopping cart options out there which should help you decide on which cart to use for your business.

[…] while I still do suggest concentrating on eBay alone when you’re just starting out (eBay, Amazon or an Online Store?), once you are up and running, then it’s time to start to look into some other platforms to also […]

Very usefull information, thank you for sharing and for taking the time to answer questions.

I live in Switzerland and in the process of opening a shop in Amazon for the European market. Products will be sourced in Italy, everything will happen in the EU. I am struggling to understand wheather I need to open a company in UK or DE to be able to operate or if this can be done from CH.

if I invest 14000 € (about 11000 GBP) in an ebay business (in Germany) from scratch,
what is the possible monthly net profit after 12 months of working fulltime on this business, especially if I attend to your 60 Day coaching program?

60DBP is currently full and closed. It will re-open in September as I want to take a short break away from business in July/August to spend more time with my family.

As for earning potential – you know and I know that it’s impossible to tell how much money you’ll make after X months. It’s impossible as it depends on so many variables like your experience, products you buy, how much time you put into your business etc. etc.

So I can’t tell you how much money you’ll make, sorry.

All I can say is that with that kind of initial investment, with full time attention and correct attitude, you should be able to create a business that makes at least 3000+ GBP per month. This is not a guarantee but approx. result I have seen people achieving with same starting point.